Seeking a Brother for the End of the World
by Hika91
Summary: Based on the concept of the movie "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World". In the middle of the Shaman Tournament, the world has been delivered the news that the world will end in exactly 3 weeks time. No power in the shaman world can prevent it. This story centres around Hao and Yoh Asakura, can they form a relationship with the end of days pending?
1. 1

"Ok what we're getting now is, yes, they're saying it was in fact a fire that erupted inside the external tank of the ship exactly 98 seconds after it entered the asteroid field. No one is sure what caused the fire which led to the massive explosion, killing all 12 crewmembers and scientists aboard the Space Shuttle Deliverance… taking with them, our last - and only hope. Once again if you are just tuning in the CSA Space Shuttle Deliverance has been destroyed. The final mission to save mankind has failed. The 70 mile wide asteroid known commonly as 'Matilda' is set the collide with earth in exactly 3 weeks time.. tzzzz-zz…"

The radio broadcast booming across the Patch village began to crackle as Goldva's voice interrupted:

"So… yes, well… everyone please try to remain calm and collected, we would appreciate it if everyone would go about their business as normal and try not to panic. I will be informing you all of the council's decision whether to cancel the tournament once we have had time to take in this tragic news and deliberated on how we best move forward at this stage. Thank you and remember to check out our new tasty meal offers currently available at The Patch Café - for all your hunger needs! –tzzzz-zz."

After a long silence, a muffled eruption of noise and activity could be heard across the village as shamans took in the news of the impending end of the world.

Inside the chambers of the shaman council, every councilman was present, standing in silence. Some had concern and shocked expressions on their faces; others were not so easy to read. Goldva stood with his back to them all, still standing beside the microphone stand. The room was dark and lit only by torchlight surrounding the corners of the room. Long shadows flickered across the stone walls as the atmosphere in the room grew more and more desolate.

After an extended period of silence, one shaman spoke:

"Surely the Great Spirits has some sort of plan?" sternly said Silva, yet his voice wavered slightly.

"You know as well as I do that the Great Spirits is earth bound, no more than we all are," muttered Goldva. "If you remove that element from the equation, we are all simply mortal, like the rest of the world."

"No." came a loud sudden voice. A new shadow had appeared on the stone wall. "You are wrong, you must be!"

Goldva did not move from his position. "Unfortunately for you Hao, I am not wrong."

Hao's eyes became angered, he clenched his fists and stepped forward.

"Not another move Hao or I'll…!" spat Silva moving quickly towards him.

"Silva." calmly said Golva, he turned around and fixed his gaze upon Silva's worried eyes. Silva nodded in understanding, but kept his attention upon Hao.

"How can you possibly say that the Great Spirits is not immortal? That would mean that the Shaman King would be mortal too! That's – that's absurd!" shouted Hao.

"Oh yes, the Shaman King and the Great Spirits are immortal. I never said they aren't. But why have a Shaman King when shamans don't exist?" explained Golva.

Hao's eyes changed, he seemed almost afraid.

"Hao, the Great Spirits belong to the universe. It lends its power to the shamans of this world and allows us to all be connected spiritually. But if the world itself ceased to exist then so will the purpose of the Great Spirits, and it will lend its power to another once our time is done." Goldva paused and then sighed heavily. "I'm telling you this because I am certain you are here because you intend to forcefully take the Great Spirits in an attempt to save your mortality. For I am sure it has occurred to you that this would be end of your reincarnating days."

Hao looked over his shoulder towards the open entrance to the council room. Standing by the doorway was Opacho, looking solemnly at Hao. Opacho whimpered slightly as she noticed Hao's eyes appeared to be glistening.

"No…" whispered Hao, turning his attention back to Goldva. "I had far more important things to concern myself with than that." Hao turned around and slowly made his way to Opacho's side, he paused in the doorway and composed himself before offering his hand to her. Opacho gripped Hao's fingers and they made their way back to the Patch Village.

Goldva and the shaman council watched the pair of them leave, slightly stunned by what had just occurred.


	2. 2

Yoh opened his eyes and blinked at the twilight sky above him.  
"Wow," he said out loud, before stretching his arms and legs to either side of him – his fingers caressed the grass around him as he lay comfortably on a neat mound hill, just on the outskirts of the village. "That was an awesome nap!"  
Yoh took a moment to appreciate the colour of the twilight sky interlinking with the shades of blue and purple that was being cast along what little clouds there were. He slowly sat upright and removed his headphones from his ears and placed them around his neck, a faint sound of music coming from the speakers could still be heard in the dead of night.

Yoh was smiling, his eyes closed, his expression seemed as though he was remembering a pleasant dream.

_Well… _he thought. _I guess I should be getting back to Anna and the others…_

Suddenly, Yoh heard a rustling sound coming from the shrubbery just a few feet in front of him. He opened his eyes and scanned the scene around him, he was now completely alert.  
"Is someone there?" he called, in the most un-threatening voice he could manage. The rustling noise came again, and suddenly a small figure appeared from the shadows.

Opacho fell onto the ground with a thump, but then scurried to her feet. She gasped as she came face to face with a familiar Shaman.  
"Opacho?" muttered Yoh, a little surprised. "What are you…?" Yoh trailed off as he realised Opacho was starting to cry. She stood her ground, her eyes fixated onto Yoh's. She made a whimpering noise before she began to wail.  
"Opacho! Don't cry! Did you hurt yourself?" quickly stammered Yoh, trying to comfort her. He got to his knees and tried to inspect her.  
"Hao-sama!" yelled Opacho. "Hao-sama! Hao-sama!" she repeated.

Yoh's eyes widened slightly. It hadn't occurred to him that Opacho might be lost. Or even, Hao might have been close by.

"Opacho, Opacho are you lost?" asked Yoh, he tried to smile to reassure the little girl. Opacho opened her eyes and nodded, she then tried to wipe her face with her fingers. Her face softened slightly as she noticed Yoh was smiling at her.

"Opacho ran away from Hao-sama, Opacho ran away because Opacho was scared." she mumbled. Yoh placed both of his hands on Opacho's shoulders, looking at her directly. "Opacho didn't mean to run away. Opacho was confused. Opacho is scared."

"I don't understand Opacho, did Hao do something to upset you?" prompted Yoh.  
"No! Hao-sama would never upset Opacho on purpose!" she paused briefly, before taking a big breath. Then she blurted out:  
"Hao-sama told Opacho that Opacho will die." Opacho began to cry again. Yoh seemed stunned. He blinked hard, and then tried to dismiss his feeling of anger and confusion. Opacho wrapped her arms around Yoh's neck and began to cry harder. Yoh just knelt there, trying to comfort a distraught Opacho. After a few moments passed, Opacho whispered,

"Hao-sama told Opacho that everyone will die."

For a moment the breath in Yoh's lungs escaped him as he tried to digest the words of the little girl. At that very moment, Yoh noticed a figure had appeared before them. Yoh looked up and saw that his twin was standing above them. Yoh could not read the expression on Hao's face, but for some reason, Yoh was not afraid of him. Even after the dark words spoken by the child in his arms.

"Opacho." muttered Yoh. Opacho calmed for a moment as she looked at Yoh's face, she saw that he was gazing at something in front of them and so she turned around. At the realisation of Hao's presence, Opacho leapt from Yoh and into the arms of her devoted carer.

"Opacho sorry Hao-sama! Opacho sorry she ran away!" she cried. Hao gripped the child in his arms and held her exceptionally tight. Yoh stood up slowly and watched the two of them together. He could sense that something was not quite right with this scenario he found himself in. He could sense this because of how long Hao was embracing Opacho, and Hao's expression seemed to be that of great pain. Opacho began to calm. Hao loosened his grip of the little girl and she relaxed, and soon enough, Opacho had completely exhausted herself and fell asleep, her arms and legs still wrapped around Hao's torso.

Yoh just stared at Hao, unsure of what to say. Hao's eyes fixated themselves on Yoh for a moment, he then turned and began to walk away.

"Hao, wait a second." muttered Yoh. Hao stopped, he did not turn back.  
"What is it, Yoh?" replied Hao. Yoh had never heard this tone of voice come from Hao before. His voice sounded… bleak, empty. Not full of arrogance or confidence as it always had. Something was different about Hao, something was wrong.  
"What did Opacho mean?" asked Yoh. "She said that you told her everyone will die."

A few moments of a deathly silence passed, and now Hao did turn around. He walked a few paces back towards Yoh until he was standing right in front of him. Hao almost managed a dumbfounded smile.  
"You don't know, do you?" he said slowly.

"Know what?" shakily asked Yoh. "Just tell me what the hell is going on!"  
"The – humans, their space mission failed. The asteroid will hit in 3 weeks."  
"What asteroid? What space mission? What?" Yoh babbled. Hao's expression became agitated.  
"For goodness sake!" hissed Hao, trying to keep his voice low so not to wake Opacho. "Do you ever pay attention?" Hao shifted Opacho closer to his left side so to look at Yoh more directly. "The world itself is going to end Yoh. We're all done for, finished. Everything."

Yoh looked shocked for a moment, but then he began to giggle. Hao could not believe that Yoh wasn't taking this seriously. "What's so funny?" he asked, surprised. He could not fathom how Yoh would laugh in a time like this. "How can you laugh at this?"  
"It's just, seeing you so worked up about this – obviously who ever will become the Shaman King will fix everything!" smiled Yoh.

"That's exactly what I thought too, but I've already been to see the shaman council. There is nothing the Shaman King can do to reverse this. It's beyond any spiritual power existing in this world. This is really it." Hao paused, his eyes looked to the ground as he sighed deeply before continuing. "And… and I am not powerful enough to stop it, either." Hao sharply turned away from Yoh. Yoh was no longer laughing. Hao's eyes became cold and dark as he turned back towards Yoh. "I just had to explain to Opacho that there was nothing I can do to save her." said Hao, coldly. His eyes seemed riddled with guilt and deep pain. Hao began to walk away from Yoh. Yoh paused and inhaled sharply before speaking into the darkness for his twin to hear:

"You don't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders anymore, Hao. It must be liberating for you, huh?"


	3. 3

Elsewhere, in a brightly lit room within an accommodation block, a group of friends were taking in the news.

"Oooh! This is bad…" shakily said Manta, pacing up and down the center of the room. He scurried across the floor, turning sharply on the spot every few seconds. He was wide eyed and looked to be thinking intensely. "Where is he?"

A calm and collected Anna stood beside the window, her back against the wall and her arms crossed over her chest. She didn't move or respond, just gazed down toward the street – like she was waiting for something.

"He should have been back by now!" cried Manta, he dramatically spun himself around on the spot, now standing with his legs apart and arms out by his sides.

He was facing the two other shamans who were sitting quietly side by side. Ren had his eyes closed, his arms crossed and his legs outward in front of him. He seemed like he may have been quietly meditating. HoroHoro looked more alert, his eyes were wide and he was holding both of his knees tightly. Manta looked on at the three shaman around him, their silence unnerving him.

Seeing his friend becoming distressed, Ryu readjusted himself and stood up straight. "Calm down, my little friend. Master Yoh will return soon. Try to exercise patience." said Ryu, trying to sound reassuring.

Manta turned around and relaxed his arms by his sides, he looked over at the tall Shaman standing by the door. "I just don't get how you guys all seem so calm. I'm freaking out, here!" cried Manta, his eyes were glistening, his voice shaking.

Ryu took a few steps forward and turned to sit himself on one of the beds. "Come," he smiled, patting space beside him. "Sit with me."

Manta sulked over to Ryu and sat beside him. Ryu place his hand upon Manta's head, which did not seem to comfort Manta at all.

"We may look calm on the outside, but on the inside we are all battling with our fears and doubts. This is something we learn, as shamans: how to compose ourselves in the face of great danger." explained Ryu, trying his best to comfort Manta.

"I… guess that makes sense." muttered Manta, he looked up at his other three friends. "Is that true? Are you guys really afraid?"

"What an absurd question." Said Ren, coldly. "As usual, Ryu, you have it completely wrong. Why on earth would I be afraid?" Ren opened his eyes and glared at Ryu.

Ryu stood up again and returned to his position beside the door, he shrugged his shoulders. "Say what ever you will, my pointy haired friend. But we are all in the same boat, heading in the same direction –

"

" – how can you not be afraid, Ren?" Manta interrupted. "You heard what the radio said, just like the rest of us! The world is going to – "

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous you both sound? Have you forgotten where we are? Who we are? Why we are here?" Ren's expression was that of slight annoyance. Anna glanced over her shoulder at Ren. She then sighed, before returning her gaze back down towards the street.

Manta blinked, taking in Ren's words. A faint feeling of relief suddenly washed over him. "You – you think that the Shaman King will be able save us?" he babbled.

"Of course!" confidently assured Ren. He started to laugh. HoroHoro threw a harsh look over his shoulder at Ren. "The Shaman King has unlimited power, it will be easy! And of course, I am going to be the one to do it." Ren smirked. "You might as well start thanking me now."

HoroHoro scrambled to his feet. "Oh yeah? Mr. I'm-going-to-save-the-world?" HoroHoro seemed distressed as he glared down at Ren. "How do you expect to become Shaman King if the tournament is cancelled? If the shaman council cancel the tournament then that obviously means there is nothing that the Great Spirits can do to save us!" spat HoroHoro angrily.

Ren got to his feet, his stance was one that was ready to fight. He met HoroHoro's glare.

"You are an idiot!" shouted Ren. "You are stupid if you believe that the Shaman King does not have the power to prevent this event!"

"You're stupid to think you can single handedly reverse a natural disaster!" screamed HoroHoro. "If you're head were any bigger it would give Matilda a run for her money!"

The boys were now touching foreheads with angry disgruntled expressions on their faces, their eyes filled with anger.

"Guys," came a calm familiar voice. Everyone stopped and turned to see Yoh standing in the doorway with a reassuring look on his face. Ren and HoroHoro instantly re-adjusted themselves and stood gazing at Yoh. Anna took a step forward and fixated her eyes on him. Ryu smiled and placed his hand onto Yoh's shoulder.

"Welcome back, Master Yoh." smiled Ryu. Yoh smiled back at him.

"Yoh!" gleefully cried Manta. "We were so worried about you – "

"Where have you been?!" snapped Anna. The temperature in the room suddenly fell by the coldness of Anna's voice. All the boys fearfully looked at Anna, then back at Yoh. Yoh tried to laugh.

"Sorry guys, I fell asleep in the meadow just outside of the village. I lost track of time!" Yoh grinned and tightly closed his eyes whilst scratching the back of his head. He tried to hide how afraid he was of Anna's impending wrath.

"Have you heard the news?" shakily asked Manta. Anna was standing firmly in the centre of the room, her hands on her hips, facing Yoh.

"Yes, yes I've heard…" muttered Yoh, his eyes suddenly changed. Anna noticed this.

"Why didn't you come back sooner?" asked Anna, she sounded less angry than before.

"Well, you see, the thing is…" Yoh struggled to find the words. "I sort of ran into Opacho and… well…"

Everyone in the room suddenly seemed uncomfortable.

"What happened, Yoh?" firmly asked Anna.

"Well, I sorta had a weird conversation with…" he paused. "With Hao."

"What?!" said everyone in unison. Yoh tried to diffuse the situation.

"Yeah, well, listen. It was okay! Hao was…" babbled Yoh.

"Did he try to get into your head again, Yoh?" asked HoroHoro.

"I bet he has some sort of plan to take the Great Spirits, now, does he not?" spat Ren.

"Don't listen to anything he said, Master Yoh." chirped in Ryu.

"Did he hurt you, Yoh?" fearfully asked Manta.

"What did he say?" boomed Anna. The room suddenly fell quiet again.

Yoh inhaled deeply, before pausing. One by one, he took the time to look at each of his friends intently. At that moment, memories of their time together as friends flooded Yoh's mind. This was going to change everything, these next few weeks were going to be much different than before. What were they going to say when he tells them the truth?

"Hao has been to see the shaman council." Yoh said, quietly. He looked at Anna, she still seemed angry but her eyes were filled with fear, almost like she already knew what Yoh was going to say.

"I knew it, Hao is going to take the Great Spirits to save his own yellow-bellied skin." angrily retorted Ren.

"No," sighed Yoh. "He's not. Well, he may have thought about it, but… there's no point." Yoh's voice had changed now, he sounded sorry, his expression had changed – no one had ever seen Yoh like this before. Yoh paused again.

"Yoh?" said Manta, shakily.

"Hao said that we are all going to die. Including him." Yoh looked towards the ground. "There's nothing that he… anyone can do."

Everyone in the room looked stunned. Ren especially. Anna looked less surprised.

"So, that's it?" said HoroHoro. "No shaman tournament? No Shaman King? That's it?"

Yoh nodded. There was a long silence. Anna stepped back towards the wall, leaning against in forcefully, her head craned back looking up at the ceiling.

Manta was shaking, tears were filling up his eyes. Thoughts of his Mom were at the forefront of his mind.

Ryu was the first to break the silence. "It may be an almost impossible task," he muttered, "but I believe we should start thinking about returning home, to our families…"

HoroHoro had a dumbfounded expression on his face. Ren looked like he was in shock, his face pale.

"Yeah." mumbled Yoh, his eyes drifting towards the window. "To our families."


End file.
